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We Lost Samantha For This?

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sequined
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
Those of you who still have AG dolls and have no children to pass them down to in your immediate future should be aware that you can sell old American Girl dolls and furniture for a shit ton of money. My family cleaned out our old playroom a couple of years ago, and I sold all my Kirsten stuff for like $300, and the number of responses I got to my CL ad suggests I could have gotten much more. I unbraided her hair, so I'd buy my (future, hypothetical) daughter a new doll anyway.
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That_little_attention_whore
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
I had a Samantha doll - got her in '89. I liked her because she had brown hair and brown eyes (like me!) and I thought she had the best outfits BY FAR. I also enjoyed her storyline, and was pretty sure that she would grow up to be socialist agitator by WWI-time. I mean, sure little Sam Parkington was a child of privilege, but she totally knew about the struggles of the working class.

Anyway, I only had Samantha, but my sister had Molly, Felicity, and Addy. Between us, we had an amazing collection of doll fashion from different time periods.
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Her Grace
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
If you want cute dolls with a story and a good ethical stance for kids, can I reccomend Karito Kids? [karitokids.com] They're international, they don't all have the same head mould, and they give a portion of every purchase to a charity of the recipient's choice.
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ArtfulSlinger
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
Ugh. And the dumbing down of America continues. Heaven forbid girls nowadays are forced to learn a bit of history.

If they get rid of Kirsten, I will storm the American Girl offices.
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moderndance
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
Whatever, Team FELICITY.
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FourInchHeels
12/19/08

@moderndance: Hell ya team Felicity! I went to her tea party in Virginia when the doll was first released. I was OMGSOCOOL. I think I still have the little head doily that we got to wear.
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CollegeCamel
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
I'm pretty sure my Samantha doll is still wearing the faux kente cloth outfit I made for her for my 8th grade presentation on Ghana, turban included. Fiiiierce.
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Little Time Bomb
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
Oh mattel why must you break my heart?
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Raspberry Swirly
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
Samantha's already gone? Dammit! I wanted to snag one before she was retired. Boooooooo Chrissa. Let's throw eggs at her.
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unpaidintern
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
Can I just say - forget Samantha. All my friends got her because she was rich and Victorian and had fantastic outfits. I got Felicity because I was a patriot and I really liked her red hair.
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greatperhaps
12/19/08

@unpaidintern: I had Felicity, too! I thought Samantha was prissy. But Felicity, man, she rocks it out hard - awesome red hair, green eyes, has a horse named Penny, and she's American Revolution-y!
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FourInchHeels
12/19/08

@greatperhaps: I loved Felicity's dresses! She had those snap-in chest pieces and I thought they were the shit.
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the dodo, the cuckoo, and the nene
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
I was so angry when Pleasant Company was bought out by Mattel that I sent them an email. (this was in 2002 or so, I was in college then) I told them that the ideals of Pleasant T. Rowland had been compromised and that I was very upset at the focus on the new dolls. I complained about the catalog too-it used to have the complete collections of all the historical dolls. In the latest ones that I have seen, they have maybe one or two items from the historical dolls and the rest of the catalog is Girl of Today crap. They responded with a "thanks for your concern...American Girl* Company appreciates your opinions" or some BS like that. I am still angry about it. But happy that I have Addy, Samantha, and Josefina and all of their accessories to pass down to my kids. Sorry for the length, but this is an issue dear to my heart. Having those dolls made me develop a lifelong interest in history, which led to me majoring in history, which led to me being a history librarian.
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Kivrin
12/19/08

@I-L-L...: I idolized Pleasant T. Rowland as a kid. I wanted to grow up and do something equally cool for nerdy girls.

I'm assuming she died before the Mattell buyout.
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Liz11685
12/19/08

@I-L-L...: I remember when the "Girls of Today" first started in the catalogue. I remember being really mad.

Damn, THREE dolls! You are the luckiest person alive!
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JerkoftheMonth
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
What? Samantha is lost? I admit that I haven't been keeping myself up-to-date with American Girl world, but are they eradicating existing dolls to accommodate new girls? Ugh, the injustice! I hope Felicity and Kirsten are still around. I have them in a doll chest somewhere in the basement.
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Flackette Goes Retro
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
WTF? She's not even historical. Where's the educational value? Samantha, Molly and I will be having a Christmas tea party and not inviting this bitch.
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tscheese
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
Also, I'm sure the doll bodies are all the same, but Samantha kind of won me over because she had that tiny little gap between her tiny little teeth (I know, the heads are all the same, too) and she had a rounded body and rounded limbs and she just seemed kind of normal and approachable. Her dress had long sleeves and was a little bit loose around her waist--she looked like a little girl, not a Bratz doll in a skimming, slimming wrap dress.

Nothing against those of us who are athletic--goodness knows, it takes a lot of smarts and determination to excel at a sport--but Chrissa would have scared me a little when I was 7 or 8. She doesn't seem to love books or painting or music or science. She's a swimmer in a flattering pink dress. There are lots of little girls out there who like sports and wearing pink, but I wasn't one of them, and it was the departure from that that made American Girl dolls so appealing to me.
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gra
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
I had Kirsten. My sister had Molly. One of my best friends had Samantha. Kirsten was my favorite. I loved all of the books though.
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taranwanderer
12/19/08

@gra: TEAM KIRSTEN!

(I had her too)
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gra
12/19/08

@taranwanderer: Yay! I had her little blue bed with red stripped mattress and patchwork quilt. So cute.

I always wanted her Christmas outfit with the wreath of candles she wore on her head.
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OffTheRecord
12/19/08

@taranwanderer: Kristen was totally the most awesome! She had that super sweet Princess Leia hair. I always wanted to take it down so it could be long and wavy like they showed in the catalog, but I was afraid I would never be able to fix it back again.
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taranwanderer
12/19/08

@gra: Fun! I always wanted her additional accessories but my parents wouldn't let me. I had all her books and some of Sam and Molly's. I loved them! Kirsten's Christmas outfit was the BEST.
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Liz11685
12/19/08

@gra: @MaddieAboutTown: Technically it is for Santa Lucia Day, which happens earlier in December. It is one kickass Swedish holiday- one of the only nationalities that allows small children to wear lit candles on their heads.

My mom didn't get me the Kirsten doll because I already had a porcelain doll in full Santa Lucia regalia. (I'm about half Swedish) I loved her books though, and dressed up as her to do a presentation for my 4th grade class on cholera.
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funnyface
12/19/08

@gra: Kirsten FTW! I have the entire Kirsten collection, collected painstakingly over birthdays and Christmases and with tooth fairy money over the course of many many years. When I moved halfway across the country, I went to my mom's house and got my Kirsten and all of her stuff. I was not going to move away without it. The hubs couldn't believe a doll would have 3 boxes of belongings, but Kirsten and her stuff are now in my very own attic.
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mbot says Spock yeah!
12/19/08

@gra: I LUSTED after a Kirsten doll for years. I think my downfall was asking for her $800 Kirsten's Complete Collection every year. I shot too high.

I loved her wooden spoon and trundle bed.
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sequined
12/19/08

@HerExcellency: You would not be able to fix it ever again. Take it from me.
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mbot says Spock yeah!
12/19/08

@Liz11685: Fourth grade cholera presentation = hilarious. The only thing funnier would be scurvy. Or possibly dysentery.
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EleanorRigby
12/19/08

In reply to We Lost Samantha For This?
They really blew it on this one. Samantha was like the gateway doll...she was the first doll everyone I know got, and from there they'd usually buy another one. Bad call, Mattel.
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